Welcome New Faculty
Dr. Blerta Xhemalçe
Biochemistry is pleased to welcome Blerta Xhemalçe, PhD, who will join the department September 2024 as an Associate Professor of Biochemistry.
Dr. Xhemalçe was previously an Associate Professor of Molecular Biosciences at the University of Texas at Austin. Her new lab, located on the 4th floor of the Rollins Research Center, aims to decipher how epigenetic modifications regulate the expression of genetic information from DNA to RNA to proteins, with a particular focus on RNA modification pathways.
Research Updates
Bou-Nader Lab
Ghalei Lab
Homa Ghalei, PhD, was promoted to Associate Professor of Biochemistry, effective September 1, 2023.
The Ghalei lab received the 2023 Emory School of Medicine Dean’s IMAGINE, INNOVATE, AND IMPACT (I3) award. The SOM Dean’s I3 WOW Awards fund innovative research ideas with the potential to make a transformational impact on fundamental biomedical knowledge or translational applications. This awarded project, which is collaborative research between the laboratories of Dr. Homa Ghalei in the Department of Biochemistry and Dr. Adam Marcus from the Hematology and Medical Oncology Department, aims to establish novel non-coding RNA biomarkers for non-small cell lung cancer.
Khoshnevis Lab
Congratulations to Dr. Sohail Khoshnevis, Assistant Professor in Biochemistry, for receiving 3 recent grants:
1. A Biological Discovery Through Chemical Innovation (BDCI) Accelerator grant to develop a new class of antifungals.
2. A CF-Air Center Pilot Award to study “The role of RNA methylation in Candida albicans for pathogenicity in cystic fibrosis model".
3. A 5-year NIH grant, "Post-transcriptional regulation of cell plasticity."
Liang Lab
Bo Liang, PhD, Associate Professor in Biochemistry, received a new sub-award under UNAPP in collaboration with the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) and Novartis, "Functions and structures of the Nipah virus polymerase".
His lab also published:
1. “Structural basis of the American mink ACE2 binding by Y453F trimeric spike glycoproteins of SARS-CoV-2,” in Journal of Medical Virology.
2. "In Silico Identification and In Vitro Validation of Repurposed Compounds Targeting the RSV Polymerase," in Microorganisms.
Draganova Lab
Elizabeth (Lizzy) Draganova, PhD, Assistant Professor in Biochemistry, received an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award from the NIH Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program. The project title is, "Under Pressure: Biophysical Mapping of Herpesvirus Capsid Assembly and Genome Packaging".
Ortlund Lab
Dr. Eric Ortlund, Professor and Vice Chair of Biochemistry, was honored with the "Deal of the Year" award from the Office of Technology Transfer at Emory University. Dr. Ortlund licensed small molecule modulators targeting the Liver Receptor Homologue 1 to Allonix Therapeutics for the treatment of IBD, Metabolic Diseases and Cancer.
Publications in the Ortlund lab:
Lee Cato, Emma D’Agostino, Racheal Spurlin, Sarah Abraham, and Eric Ortlund published a paper, "Comparison of Activity, Structure, and Dynamics of SF-1 and LRH-1 Complexed with Small Molecule Modulators," in Journal of Biological Chemistry.
